Bleach Uryu Ishida: The Last Of The Quincy
by torlynn98
Summary: What will the gang do when a new girl with a strange spiritual pressure comes to town? Ashleigh Kamagari is a transfer student from America... Or is she? Not only is she hiding a secret of her own, but is also carrying a burden that could effect everyone that she doesn't even know about. Maximum Ride Crossover. (In Progress)
1. New Friends

A girl walked down the road hauling a 20 pound book bag on her back, heading nowhere in particular. Starting today, I'm going to be beginning my life in Japan, as a high school transfer student from America, in this little town called Karakura, she thought to herself.

She walked as she thought about how she ended up here. It had been a normal sunny day… to anyone else. She wasn't allowed to enjoy that pleasure, in fact this was the first time in a long time that she had even felt the sun, since the last time she had escaped anyway. No, she wasn't a criminal, but she would have rather been. She was a science experiment, the only reason she existed was for research. Nothing more, nothing less. That was what the scumbags that made her thought of her anyway.

She sighed, pulling her windbreaker higher on her neck. Hiding the whole reason she was here, meaning the wings grafted onto her back. This was the reason she lived in that hellhole for so long before breaking out. With 17 foot wingspan and white wings with brown speckled feathers here and there, she was certainly impressive. She never really had any friends except some other experiments like her who escaped a few years before her and as glad as she was they were never captured and brought back, as far is she knew anyway. She had been alone since they left.

She was entranced by her surroundings. Japan was so different from home, what she had seen of it anyway. It was all so beautiful.

Suddenly, she ran into something, or someone would be more accurate, and fell to the ground.

"Oww…" she mumbled.

"Hey, Uryu! Watch where you're going." Scolded a tall boy with spikey orange hair.

She looked up to see the group of students had surrounded me. A boy with raven hair and glasses stood in front of her. He has a handsome face, but cold eyes. She blushed under his stare.

"Oh, sorry. I wasn't paying attention." He said as he held out his hand to help me up.

"No, it's fine really. I wasn't paying much attention either." she smiled shyly as she grabbed his hand and got up.

They looked at her curiously for a second.

"You're not from around here, are you?" asked the girl with red hair.

"Do I stand out that much?" she asked, nervous that they'll realize something.

"No, it's not that really. I mean, you look different, but it's the way you talk that gives you away." Said Orihime quickly. She hadn't meant what she said in a mean way.

"Well, you're right. I'm not from around here." She said smiling again. "Hi, my name's Ashleigh Kamagari. I'm a… transfer student from America." She held her hand out to her to shake hands, but Orihime looked confused.

She was quite proud of her name, she had picked it herself. Her first name from a baby book she had found, and her last name from a character in a game she liked. She wondered if it drew attention to her and if she should run.

"What's wrong?" she asked embarrassed, and lowered her hand.

"What are you doing?" asked Orihime.

"Oh, um… Shaking hands. It's kind of considered a greeting where I'm from…"

"Oh!" And Orihime grabbed her hand and started shaking it exaggeratedly.

It was Ashleigh's turn to look confused.

"Haha. By the look on her face, I don't think that's how you do it Orihime." Said a short girl with black hair. "We don't shake hands here, we just bow when we greet new people."

"Oh." And I bowed quickly to the group. "Like that?"

"It was close enough. I'm Ichigo Kurosaki." Said the boy with spikey hair smiling like he was trying to keep from laughing and he bowing slightly, and the others followed suit.

"And I'm Rukia Kuchiki." Said the short girl with black hair.

"I'm Orihime Inoue." Said the girl with long red hair.

"I'm Yasutora Sado, but everyone just calls me Chad." Said the tall boy with brown hair and dark skin.

There was a small silence as everyone looked to the boy with raven hair.

"Uryu?" asked Orihime.

Ashleigh looked his way and met his gaze. His face tinted slightly pink

"Hm? Oh, I'm Uryu Ishida. Nice to meet you." He said with an fascinated look on his face.

"Wait." Said Ichigo, as if he just realized something. "You said you're a transfer student, what school are going to?" He asked.

"Um, give me a second." She pulled her bag off her shoulder, and started digging for the registration papers. "Oh! Here they are. Um, Karakura High."

"That's where we go!" said Orihime excitedly, and clapped her hands.

"Really? At least I'll know somebody then." She said as she smiled in relief.

"What class?" asked Rukia.

"Class three…?" she said looking over the paper.

"That's us too." Said Rukia smiling.

"That's great! So, I'll see you all tomorrow then?"

"Yeah!" said Orihime.

"Sure." Said Ichigo.

"Alright." Says Rukia smiling.

"It was so nice meeting you guys, but I really have to finish moving in."

"Wait a second, can I ask you on more question?" asked Uryu.

"Uh, sure." She said as calmly as she could.

"Do you even have any place to stay at?"

"What makes you think I don't?" she asked.

"Well, when you opened your bag, not only did you have a bunch of clothes but you had food and water. I also saw a blanket. It looks like you're going camping."

Her expression must have told him everything he needed to know, because he smirked slightly.

"Why don't you stay with one of us then?" he suggested.

"I've only just met you." She said, her expression growing colder from suspicion. If living in the lab for several years had taught her anything, it was not to trust anyone.

Uryu rolled his eyes. "Don't glare at me like that. It's not like we're going to do anything to you. Look, why don't you stay at my place until you get your own?"

They group looked over at him, their eyebrows in their hairlines while Ashleigh stayed silent.

"It's either my place or the ground. Just come on, it's a good deal."

She thought a moment more, the sighed. "Alright then." She decided that she'd benefit more staying at this man's house than staying outside on the ground.

With this he nodded and they all started walking again, though Ashleigh hung back walking slower than the rest. Noticing this, Orihime and Rukia went to walk with her while the boys walked ahead.

"Ichigo." Said Uryu quietly.

"Yeah?" he answered.

"Did you feel that spiritual pressure standing near her?"

"Yeah, I did. I was wondering about that too."

"Her spiritual pressure was different than that of a shinigami though." Said Ichigo. "Honestly, it felt like it was similar to yours, Uryu."

Uryu stayed quiet as he thought about this.

"Either way, there's something not normal about her." He said, continuing. "Though, I don't think she realizes it."

"I don't think so either." Said Uryu.

The girl was different, very different in several ways. She had a significant amount of spiritual pressure, but she also had the secret of her wings that they knew nothing about. At this they had no idea how important she'd become to them.


	2. In The Morning

"Kamagari! Wake up! It's time to get ready for school!" yelled a voice, waking Ashleigh out of her sleep. For a moment, she was confused before slowly remembering where she was.

She groaned loudly as she looked at the clock beside her. The bright red digits on the screen read 6:00 AM.

"What time does school start?" Ashleigh yelled back.

"8." Answered Uryu.

"Then why are you waking me up at 6?"

"Because you look like the type of person that takes forever to get ready. Get up now, or I'll leave without you!"

"No you won't. You're so overdramatic." Said Ashleigh as she sat up in bed.

Uryu's low, very irritated growl could be heard from the other side of the door before he stalked away. Ashleigh smirked. Last night as they walked home together she discovered how easy the way she acted irritated him.

_My whole personality aggravates him, it's not like it's that hard to get on his nerves._ She thought to herself while snickering. Weirdly enough, she enjoyed it when he was annoyed with her, he would get so worked up for something she had said. They had only known each other for a day, but she liked spending time with Uryu.

She found her school uniform she had gotten the day before, and tucked her wings further into her back to make them less noticeable. She turned and looked at herself in the mirror, and after she decided she looked normal enough, she went downstairs for breakfast.

Uryu was already there, silently sitting on the couch drink coffee.

"I knew you were one of those girls that takes forever to get ready." He said to her, smirking.

"And yet, you didn't leave without me."

"I would of if it wasn't your first day." He mumbled.

She smiled a little at him. "So, um. Thanks."

His eyes widened in surprise. "Why are you thanking me?"

"Well, you know. You don't even know me, and you took me in. You're even walking with me to school."

"It's really not that big of deal. I couldn't let you just go sleep in an alley somewhere and you don't even know where the school is, someone has to walk with you." He answered, looking away. Ashleigh could have sworn she saw his face turn slightly pink.

"I don't sleep in alleys. I prefer trees, I feel safer in trees." She mumbled subconsciously.

"You sleep in trees? How long have you lived like this?"

She tensed after realizing what had slipped out of her mouth, she quickly tried to play it off.

"Hm? Oh yeah, haven't you ever slept in a tree? It's fun!"

"Don't try to play it off like it's nothing. Answer me."

She sighed. "For a while now, okay?"

Uryu stood up and walked over to her, he put a hand on her shoulder. "Listen to me Kamagari. As annoying as you are, you can stay here as long as you need to, alright?" And he smiled at her.

"You could just call me Ashleigh or Ash, you know. You're so formal."

He rolled his eyes. "Just finish getting ready. We have to meet the others in 5 minutes."

"I'm ready. We can go now."

He smiled. "Alright, good. Come on then, we are supposed to meet them at the park."

With that, they walked out the door to meet their friends.


	3. Hollow Attack

They were walking through the park on their way to school when they suddenly heard a loud screeching sound. Everyone froze, and their faces grew serious. That is, except Ashleigh who was confused, and slightly frightened on what the sound was.

"What was that?" Asked Ashleigh.

They all turned and looked at her like they had just now noticed her.

"You heard that?" Asked Ichigo.

"I heard something that sounded like a dying animal, yeah."

"Hey Ash. Why don't you walk on ahead to school and we'll meet you there." Said Uryu, who seemed to staring at something in the distance.

"You know, Uryu, I would… if I knew where the school was." She said annoyed.

He sent an irritate growl her way.

"You're so stubborn. You'd be safer if you-"

Just then, a large creature lands in front of them. With a skull-like mask covering its face and a large hole in its chest, it had to of been the ugliest thing Ashleigh had ever seen. She went to sidestep a little closer to Uryu when the monster grabbed her leg.

She screamed as the monster tightened his grip on her, she heard several cracks. She was sure that several of her ribs had just broke from the pressure.

"Ashleigh!" yelled Uryu.

She was losing consciousness, she had to be. She saw Ichigo and Rukia with swords in their hands, Uryu with what looked like a bow, and Chad suddenly had an oversized demonic looking arm.

_I'm dreaming,_ she thought. _I'll wake up and everything will back to normal._

She couldn't keep up with what was going on around her. As her vision started going dark, she felt herself drop to the ground, and she fell hard. She was enveloped in warm arms as she heard the voices of her new friends around her but they were growing further and further away.

* * *

"Ashleigh! Ashleigh, wake up!" Uryu held the unconscious girl in his arms and shook her as Orihime ran over.

She looked over Ashleigh, who was still in lifeless in Uryu's arms.

"Uryu, several of her ribs are broken, and her leg was snapped almost in half when she fell. The bone is sticking out of her skin, she's bleeding badly. I don't think I should start to heal her until her bones have been set."

"We need to take her to Kisuke." Said Rukia, coming up beside Orihime. "Tessai should be able to fix her up."

"We need to hurry then. If her ribs are broken, then her lungs could collapse." Said Uryu, picking Ashleigh up.

* * *

Tessai walked out of the back room.

"How is she?" asked Rukia.

"She's going to be alright. I had to rebrake her bones, her body had started healing itself."

"How is that possible?" Asked Ichigo.

"I have an idea, but I'd rather not tell you until I know it is okay with her. Kisuke? Yoruichi? Will you come with me for a moment? Orihime, you can finish healing her after I talk with these two." Kisuke and Yoruichi stood and followed Tessai, earning them curious stares from the group of high schooler's sitting at a table.

They followed Tessai into the back room, he gestured for the two to sit on the other side of Ashleigh whose chest and leg was tightly bound in bandages and splints until Orihime could heal her.

"What is it Tessai?"

"You're a scientist Kisuke, I wanted to know what you think of this. I thought Yoruichi should see this too."

He gently maneuvered a sleeping Ashleigh onto her side to show Kisuke and Yoruichi could see her back.

Kisuke looked shocked to see her wings.

"What is she, Kisuke?" asked Yoruichi as she stared at the girls back.

"Well, she's a genetically altered human. It looks like her DNA has been fused with that of a bird's. Judging by the color and characteristics of her wings, I would say some sort of barn owl."

"If she's genetically altered, that would explain why she was healing so fast." Said Yoruichi.

"Kisuke." Said Tessai quietly.

"Hm?" said Kisuke as he looked up at Tessai.

"You wouldn't have anything to do with this would you?"

"Not me personally, no. But I say the same for Mayuri Kurotsuchi. Turn her over a little more Tessai, if she has the Squad 12 symbol on the left side of her neck under her hairline, then she was an experiment made by Mayuri."

Sure enough, there was the Squad 12 symbol on her neck, only there was a slight difference in what Kisuke expected.

Kisuke's mouth dropped open a little.

"What is it?" asked Yoruichi.

"The symbol's here, but it's in English." Said Kisuke, slightly dumbstruck. "Tessai, go get the others. This is a problem."

Tessai got up and left the room, and just as he shut the door, Ashleigh opened her eyes. She laid there for a second before coming to her senses and looking up at the smiling Kisuke. A whole new wave of fear washed over her and she went to stand up and run. Only cry out in pain and fall to the ground. She quickly pulled herself together and moved quickly to the corner of the room breathing hard from the pain. She didn't even notice the tears running down her face.

_I'm trapped, I can't run and I can't fly. I have to get out of here, _she thought.

"Who are you?" she managed.

"Calm down Ashleigh. My name is Kisuke Urahara, and this is Yoruichi Shihōin." He said, and gestured to the woman beside him. "You don't need to be afraid of us. On a side-note, you shouldn't strain yourself to hide your wings so much. You broke a few wing bones too."


	4. The Girl with the Wings

Her eyes narrowed into a glare, she was going to say something else but the door slid open just then and in came her friends, and their eyes immediately fell on her with worried expressions as they say down.

They knew her secret, she had to get out of here and as far away as possible. She was starting to panic.

"Geez, Kisuke. What did you do to her? She looks like an animal trapped in a cage." Asked Ichigo.

They all looked from her to Kisuke, who was still smiling.

He turned to Ashleigh. "You can show them. Trust me, we've seen things a lot weirder."

"That's just the thing, I don't trust you. If I could put weight on my leg, I would have been gone right now."

Hearing this, her new friends looked slightly hurt, especially Orihime.

"Well, it's a good thing we didn't let Orihime heal you yet then, huh?"

She glared at him, then a realization came to her. She glanced over at Orihime.

Kisuke sighed and looked over at Ichigo and the others.

"Alright, it seems she won't share her secret until we share ours."

The group looked hesitant, but then nodded. They knew Kisuke wouldn't ask them to do something like this unless it was important.

"We'll go first." Said Rukia, and her and Ichigo stood up. They both put a small green candy in their mouth at the same time, then there was a flash of light. When Ashleigh looked up, she saw a normal looking Ichigo and Rukia sitting in their original positions, but in front of them stood another two. The standing Rukia and Ichigo smiled at her as they looked at her confused expression, they were wearing black yukatas and were carrying swords.

"It's alright. This is Kon and Chappy, they're mod souls. Ichigo and I are soul reapers, we are guardians of the souls who are going through the circle of transmigration and we purify Hollows who do evil in the World of the Living and ensure the safe crossing of souls - the Pluses who have lost their way after death - by giving them a soul burial."

Ashleigh sat stunned. "Hollows?" The more she heard, the more confused she became.

"Hollows are a race of creatures which are born from Human souls who, for various reasons, do not cross over to Soul Society after their death and stay in the Human World for too long. They are corrupt spirits with supernatural powers which devour the souls of both living and deceased Humans. That thing that grabbed you earlier and did this to you, that was a Hollow." Answered Rukia.

"I'll go next." Said Orihime. "Ashleigh?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to heal your wounds, okay?"

"Um, yeah sure. I don't know what else you could do though."

Orihime smiled. "You'll see. _S__ō__ten Kisshun_."

An orange dome of light surrounded Ashleigh, she sat still. If she trusted anyone in this group of people, it was Orihime. Ashleigh had noticed, even in the short time they've known each other, that all of her emotions showed on her face. She noticed all the pain in her body slowly fading away. She studied her body, and noticed the bruises and cuts healing themselves.

"That's amazing…" whispered Ashleigh.

Orihime smiled at her. Ashleigh glimpsed over at Uryu, hoping he was next. She was genuinely curious of what his power was.

"We might have to go downstairs for Chad and Uryu." Said Kisuke getting up.

"Huh?" Ashleigh sent him a quizzical look, but he just smiled and started toward the door. Everyone else in the room stood and started walking after him. Ashleigh tried to follow, but clumsily fell forward. She closed her eyes and prepared to hit the ground, but didn't feel anything. She realized someone's warm arms were around her, she slowly opened her eyes to see Uryu right in front of her. His faced tinted slightly pink and she felt her own face growing warm.

"Are you really that clumsy? You're going to brake something again." He said looking at her.

"Yeah, well…" She cursed to herself, the one time she couldn't come up with a good comeback.

Uryu laughed a little and helped her stand up and the walked together over to the others. They were standing around a hole in the floor.

"Uryu, why don't you help our new friend down to the bottom? From the looks of it, she hasn't regained control over her legs yet." Said Kisuke, then he jumped into the hole. At first she was surprised, but everyone followed after him. Finally, Uryu walked over to her and held out his hand.

"Huh?" She asked. He rolled his eyes and wrapped an arm around her waist. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"Just hold on." And he jumped through the hole with her held closely to him, she was so shocked she clung to him tightly. Of course, she could have easily made this jump on her own, but with his other arm wrapped around her back, she couldn't open her wings. Besides, she didn't fully trust them yet.

They landed with a soft thump on the ground, Uryu took a moment to help Ashleigh's steady herself before he let her go. The others watched them with fascinated smiles on their faces. Ashleigh scowled a little at them, Uryu just looked away with a slight pink tint to his face.

"Well, we should be safe down here." Said Kisuke, looking around. For the first time, Ashleigh took a look around.

"Whoa…" She was in what looked like an underground training room. She was captivated by it, it was so large. It had to cover most of the city.

She suddenly tensed and took a step back away from Kisuke, all her captivation gone. When she thought about it, this wasn't her first time in a room like this. She looked at her feet, as her mind flashbacked to a training center in the lab. They had done so many experiments on her, they liked to test her speed and reaction time. They often made other experiments chase and attack her, testing her to her limits. She cringed at the memory. She suddenly came to her senses and realized she was breathing hard, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see Kisuke smiling sympathetically at her, but the others were exchanging worried glances.

"You're alright here, nothing is going to happen to you. Alright?" Said Kisuke. She hesitated at first, but finally nodded. "Okay, good! Chad, why don't you go first?"

Chad nodded, and turned away from them. "_Brazo Derecha de Gigante._" He said quietly and within an instant a black liquid covered his arm and formed what looked like armor to Ashleigh. Then he muttered "_El Directo_." He moved like he was going to throw a punch but instead of hitting something, his arm shot a blue streak of energy that destroyed one of the many rock formations around them.

"Holy crap…" She said in awe as her jaw hit the ground. Uryu didn't understand why, but her reaction bothered him. He felt slightly jealous in the fact she was so in awe of Chad's power. At the same time, he was surprised that she wasn't freaking out over their powers. She was defiantly a strange one that much he knew. He felt this sudden competiveness run through him, he wanted her to recognize his power just as much as everyone else.

"I'm next." He said, in a slightly cold manner. He walked away from the others and took a stance, raising his left arm. Ashleigh actually gasped when she saw a blue pentacle shape bow had formed. He drew his right hand back, forming a large arrow and released it, destroying another large rock formation. Ashleigh's mouth dropped open yet again, and Uryu made his way over to her. He put his hand on her chin and shut her mouth while she looked up at him.

"Bugs will fly in your mouth if you keep doing that." He told her and smirked slightly.

Kisuke grinned, Ichigo and Rukia had filled him in on Ashleigh's situation, and how she was staying at Uryu's house and had told him about her strange spiritual pressure that was similar to Uryu's. After their conversation, Kisuke's interest in the girl more and more. Sure, the girl had wings, but what he was really interested in was her body healed itself faster than a normal. It was possible that this was caused by her avian fused DNA, but he another thought had occurred to him when he saw the Squad 12 mark on the back of her neck. He had a quick test he want to do to test his theory, but before that she had to show the others her wings.

"Ashleigh." She turned to look at him, she hesitated but nodded slowly.

"I guess it's only fair." She turned to her friends who were watching her. "No one freak out when I do this, alright? I just don't want to tear my shirt up." She pulled her shirt over her head, which made the boys blush and look away.

Ashleigh rolled her eyes. "I have a tank top on, stop getting so embarrassed over nothing. Besides, you all wanted me to show you what I am." Saying this she spread her wings to her full wing-span of 17 feet. Orihime and Rukia gasped, but the boys had their eyes closed. Her face curved into a mischievous smile and motioned for the girls to watch her.

She quietly snuck up in front of the three high school boys and used her feathers to tickle their noses. There was a collective sneeze, and they all looked at her in shock. This earned them a mutual laughing fit from Orihime, Rukia, and Ashleigh. Uryu and Ichigo glared daggers at Ashleigh, Chad just stood there with his cheeks still tainted pink.

Ashleigh smiled and looked towards Uryu. "Now you know why I was sleeping in trees."

"Having wings doesn't tell me why you were sleeping in a tree."

"Well, when you're being hunted by some whack-job scientist, it's safer to sleep in a tree than it is a hotel. Besides the fact I have no money." Uryu eyes went wide and he looked at Kisuke who nodded. Ashleigh looked at them confused but when she opened her mouth to ask what was going on, Kisuke walked over to Ashleigh and laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Do you mind if I asked you few questions?"

"Uh, sure I guess." Said Ashleigh, still confused but she was slowly starting to trust Kisuke.

"Are there more of you?" He asked. Ashleigh froze, she didn't want to say. It still hurt to think about them, even though she knew it was for the best. "Ashleigh, this is very important. I need you to trust me."

She was quiet for a moment. "What do you plan to do with information?" Her voice was low, as the little bit of trust she had in Kisuke faded.

"Nothing, I promise." He replied. He seemed earnest.

She sighed. "Yes, there are more but they aren't here." She felt a tear run down her cheek and she lowered her head slightly so that her light brown hair hid her face from view.

"Do you know where they are?"

"Yes, they're in America. I wasn't lying when I said I moved here from the States."

"If there are more of you, why aren't you with them?"

She held back a sob that was threatening to come out her mouth.

"I'm here and not with them… Because they think I'm dead, and I don't want to burden my brother."


	5. Ashleigh's Backstory

Everyone was silent as they stood in shock, on the other hand Ashleigh was trying the best she could to hold herself together. She barely knew these people, even with the little trust she had in them, she couldn't let them see her so vulnerable. She slowly wrapped her arms around herself, pulling her wings around her.

Uryu's body moved on his own and he took a step closer to her, and before he knew what he was doing, he wrapped his arms around her. At first they both stood there stiff, but after the few moments after the shock he felt Ashleigh relax into his arms and bury her head in his chest. He was surprised at himself. If it had been Orihime or Rukia, he would have just said some comforting words, at most rubbed their back to calm them down. He sighed and rested his chin on the top of her head.

There was something different about her. She annoyed him, but he still found her charming… In a stubborn, irritating kind of way.

_Yes, because that makes complete sense. _He thought to himself. He mentally rolled his eyes at himself.

They stood there like that for a moment before Ichigo spoke up.

"Uh, I hate to ask, but what do you mean 'they think your dead'?" He asked.

Ashleigh straightened herself, and pushed away from Uryu. "Thanks, I'm fine now." She mumbled to him, he nodded stiffly.

She turned to Ichigo, her face expressionless. "I'm still not sure I can trust you all, but you've shown your true selves to me, so it's only fair I do the same. First off, my real name isn't Ashleigh Kamagari, that's the name I gave myself. My name is EA0203098, the EA stands for 'Experiment Avian'. I was created in a lab with six others. By age it's Maximum, Fang, Iggy, Me, Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel. They escaped a long time before me, and are in America. A few days before they escaped, I was taken in for a special experiment. After they ran test on me, they moved me to a new room and told the others I had died during the experiment. Of course, I didn't know all this until after they were gone, or I would have done something."

"But… If you've free now, why didn't you go to them?" Asked Orihime.

"Well, when they left, I was given a computer to use as a journal. I discovered my brother, Fang, had a blog and I read it every day. It was so nice to know they were all safe, but at the same time, I realized they have enough of their own problems without me around. You see, one day a scientist came to my room. I'll always remember him because he was the strangest man I had ever met, actually 'strange' isn't the right word for him. Creepy. Creepy fits him better. Anyway, he told me that I was special and that's why they took extra precautions that day. They couldn't afford to lose me. He said I had special powers that no one else did, that I was a very special experiment."

"Did he ever tell you what that power was?" asked Ichigo.

"No, he didn't. He said I would learn in time."

There was a long silence, before Kisuke smiled and put a hand on her shoulder.

"You'll figure it out. In the meantime, do you know how to fight?"

"Of course I do. How could I live on my own if I didn't?" She said.

"You got yourself pretty beat up earlier for someone who apparently who knows how to fight." Ichigo mumbled, she turned and glared at him.

"That only happened because I had no idea what was going on, that thing came out of nowhere."

"Hmph." Ichigo rolled his eyes.

She raised an eyebrow at him and another wicked smile appeared across her face.

"You don't believe me? Let me prove it to you then."

"I'm not fighting a girl." He said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh, come on. It's just a little sparring match. No harm done." She looked at him challengingly.

"I'm not doing it." He closed his eyes and crossed his arms.

"Honestly. You're not any fun." She frowned and crossed her arms. Then a thought occurred to her, and a smile slowly returned to her face. She took a step toward Ichigo. "What if… I made you mad enough to fight with me…"

Ichigo quickly opened his eyes, but before he could react Ashleigh delivered a swift and strong roundhouse kick to his face. Ichigo flew backwards at the unexpected attack, when he sat up his nose was bloody. Ashleigh smiled triumphantly while everyone stood shocked behind her.

"Remind me not to make you mad, Ashleigh." Said Uryu, and Chad nodded in agreement. She turned and directed her smile towards them for a moment before turning back to Ichigo, watching as he walked up to her.

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" yelled Ichigo as he held his nose. Uryu noticed Ashleigh stiffen slightly as she waited for a counter-attack. Ichigo rolled his eyes. "I'm still not going to fight you. But I'll take back what I said about you not being able to fight. I think you broke my nose though. Orihime?"

"On it. _S__ō__ten Kisshun._" Said Orihime, and an orange light enveloped Ichigo.

Kisuke turned to Ashleigh and smiled. "Well, at least we know you can decently defend yourself. You'll need it with this group. On a more personal note, I'll try to remember not to make you mad."

Rukia snickered. "Hey Ichigo!"

"What?"

"How does it feel to know you can get your butt kicked by two girls now?"

"Shut up!"

Ashleigh and Rukia laughed.


	6. First Day of School

Ashleigh took a deep breath trying to calm her anxious feelings. She stood outside the Class Three classroom trying to work up her nerve to open the door and walk in. She had just finished talking with the headmaster and was given paperwork and sent to her assigned class. It wasn't like she had never been to school before, she had been to a couple of them in America. But those where schools in America, this was Japan. The few days she had been here she had realized that everything was different here.

She worked up her nerve and took another, slow deep breath before knocking gently on the door before opening it slowly. When she stepped inside the room everyone turned to look at her and she felt her face grow warm. Her only comfort was the encouraging smiles she got from her friends. She walked up to the front to the class and handed the teacher her papers from the office. She smiled and turned towards Ashleigh.

"You must be the new student. Welcome."

"Thank you."

"If you don't mind me asking, weren't you suppose to start a few days ago?" Ashleigh stiffened slightly; as well as Ichigo, Uryu, Rukia, Chad, and Orihime. They had practiced this, but it still made them nervous nonetheless.

"Yes. You see I was trying to find my way here when I fell and sprang my ankle. I wasn't able to walk for a couple days and the doctor told me that I should attempt to walk until the swelling went down.

"Ah, I see." She smiled and turned towards the class. "Class, this is Ashleigh Kamagari. She's a transfer student from America."

Ashleigh waved silently, not used to this type of introduction. Again, another thing that was different.

"Ms. Ashleigh, why don't you sit in the empty desk next to Mr. Ishida. He'll help you with whatever you need."

Ashleigh nodded and walked over to sit by Uryu. When the teacher wasn't looking she turned his way and smirked, Uryu raised an eyebrow at her in confusion.

"You have to help me with _whatever_ I need." She whispered, putting extra emphasis on the word 'whatever', and sent him a mischievous smile.

Uryu rolled his eyes, but smiled slightly. "We'll just see what happens, won't we?"

She chuckled under her breath. This constant banter was becoming normal for them, and Ashleigh loved the friendship they had formed. Though they had only known each other for a few days, they were growing closer.

When it was time for lunch, Rukia and Orihime came up to her smiling.

"Ashleigh, what are you doing here? We eat up on the roof." Said Rukia.

Ashleigh sat confused for a moment. "You want me to eat with you?" Her face slowly forming a smile.

"Of course. Why wouldn't we?" Orihime said in a wide smile.

"I don't know, I just figured you all had done enough for me already, I didn't want to be any more of a burden on you. Besides I think Ichigo is still a little mad at me for breaking his nose." She laughed despite herself, she really did feel a little bad but he was asking for it and she never bother to apologize.

"He's over it. Come on, everyone is waiting for you. We want to introduce you to some people too." Rukia grabbed her hand and started dragging her by the hand towards the roof Orihime following closely behind.

Ashleigh laughed at her friend's excitement. "Alright, alright. I'm coming."

They reached the roof, Rukia still holding her wrist and dragging her along.

"This baka thought that we didn't want her to eat with this." Rukia said finally letting go of her hand.

Ashleigh smiled sheepishly at the group in front of her.

"Why would you think we wouldn't want to eat with you, Ash?" asked Uryu.

"Nevermind. Didn't you say you wanted to introduce me to some people, Rukia?" She asked, then she noticed three people standing in front of her.

"Yes. Ashleigh this is Tatsuki Arisawa, Keigo Asano, and Mizuiro Kojima. They're friends of ours."

"Nice to meet you." She went to offer to shake hands, before she caught herself. "Oh, right!" She bowed slightly like she had seen the others do when they introduced themselves.

Ichigo and Uryu chuckled. Tatsuki, Keigo, and Mizuiro looked at her confused.

Ichigo looked up at the three of them from the ground. "She's from America. Apparently they greet people greet each other by shaking hands."

"Weird." Said Tatsuki.

"Hey, Tatsuki. That's not nice." Scolded Orihime.

"Honestly, I found bowing weird. Difference in cultures." Said Ashleigh shrugging her shoulders.

There was a silence as they watched Ashleigh and Tatsuki who stared quietly at each other.

Suddenly, Tatsuki laughed. "You're alright, Kamagari."

Ashleigh relaxed her pose and smiled at Tatsuki, then quietly walked over and took the empty seat between Uryu and Ichigo.

"That could of turned out bad." Said Uryu to Ashleigh quietly.

Ashleigh snorted. "I could have handled it. Being genetically altered and all, I'm a lot stronger than normal humans, especially girls my age." She smiled slightly.

"Tatsuki knows martial arts." Said Ichigo.

She looked over at him raising an eyebrow. "What's your point?"

Ichigo shrugged. "Nothing, I guess. Just don't expelled, will ya?"

Ashleigh giggled. "No promises."

She laughed when Uryu and Ichigo rolled their eyes. She didn't plan on getting expelled, no matter how carefree she seemed to be to the others. This is the best thing that had happened to her in a while and she wasn't going to give that up so easily. She liked being around this new group of people. They gave her a sense of security that she had never had before, though that didn't mean she was ever off guard. She knew her brother would never approve of her being so open with people, or the fact she hasn't moved towns in the past 72 hours. Especially now that they knew her secret, she knew she should leave but… she felt a connection with these people that she never had with anyone. She felt like they could be trusted.

Suddenly she felt herself being bopped on the head. She looked up to see Uryu looking at her curiously.

"What was that for?"

He shrugged. "You spaced out while and Orihime asked you a question."

She quickly looked at Orihime, her eyes conveying worry. "Sorry, what'd you say?" She smiled.

"Oh nothing. I was just wondering about the schools in America. What do you guys do there?"

"Probably about the same stuff you do. School work, field trips, and dances. Nothing really unusual."

The stared at her in confusion. "What?" she asked, wonder what she did this time.

"What's a 'dance'?" asked Mizuiro.

"You don't have dances here…? Well, it's like a 'gathering'. The girls wear dresses and the guys wear suits. At the dance there's a DJ that plays music for everyone to dance to. You can take dates or you can just go with a group of friends. The can be really fun if they're planned right."

"Wow! That sounds like fun!" Said Orihime excitedly.

"Why don't we host one here?" said Rukia.

"Can we do that?" Asked Ashleigh.

"Of course we can. It'll be fun, you and will go talk to the headmaster after school."

"Alright!"

"Oh! We'll need to go dress shopping!" Said Orihime and she clapped her hands. Ashleigh inwardly cringed, wishing she hadn't mentioned that part. "And you all need to go look for suits!"

One look at their faces made wearing a dress worth it. None of them were clearly looking forward to clothes shopping. Ashleigh laughed, which earned glares from all 5 boys sitting around her.

She looked over to Tatsuki, who also didn't look to thrilled either. Ashleigh smiled. "Hey Tatsuki! You're going to come suffer with me, right?"

She smiled slightly. "Doesn't look like I have much of a choice."

"How about we all go Saturday then? We'll split off in groups, pick out our outfits, and then go get lunch together somewhere."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

* * *

After school was over Rukia and Ashleigh went to the headmaster's office and got permission to have a school.

They ran to catch up to their friends who were waiting at the gate and told them the good news.

They all agreed to meet up on Saturday and look for their outfits and then headed home.


	7. Getting to Know Each Other

**Okay, so it's a shorter chapter. But I wanted to write a chapter about Ashleigh's and Uryu's relationship and how's it's growing. So review and enjoy. :)**

* * *

Uryu and Ashleigh were walking back home after making a stop at the grocery store, seeing as Ashleigh had ate all the food in the fridge. They both walked the sidewalk back to the house carrying several bags on each arm. Uryu couldn't believe how much this girl ate.

"How can you eat this much and not get sick?" He asked, utterly shocked.

"Diet of an Avian American. With my wings, I burn it all off when I fly." She shrugged.

"Avian American?" He laughed.

She smiled. "Sounds better than 'Bird Kid', especially since I'm not exactly a kid anymore. It's a term my brother came up with. All of us have diets like this."

"I guess it's a good thing my father owns a hospital then."

"Yeah, sorry about this." She looked down embarrassed.

He noticed her change in mood and his voice softened. "It's not your fault, it's the way you were made. It can't be helped."

He peered into her face. "Hey, Ashleigh?"

"Yeah?"

"What is your brother like?" He asked.

"My brother? Well to explain him simply he's the strong, silent type but really he has a big heart. He just doesn't want anyone to know it. He's a really good guy."

There was a silence as Uryu thought of something. "Do you think… you'll ever go back to them?" He asked, though he wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer.

"I don't know. I guess I'll deal with that when we get to that point. Right now, I want to stay right here in Karakura town with you guys." She looked up and smiled at him.

He smiled. "Good. Though, I do hope you can see your brother again someday too."

"I will. Someday."

They walked on in silence until they reached Uryu's house. After they had put all the food away, Ashleigh worked up her nerve to ask the question that had been bothering her all the way home.

"Hey."

"Yeah?"

"You said earlier that your father owns a hospital?"

"Yeah, what about it?" He asked confused.

"Well, I was just wondering… Where is your father?"

"My father and I don't get along very well. First chance I had, I moved out."

"Oh, sorry."

"It's fine, don't worry about it." He shot her a smirk.

After a moment, Ashleigh started laughing.

"What? What's so funny?" Uryu asked.

"Nothing." She said with a huge grin on her face. "I was just thinking. This is the first time we've had a conversation without teasing each other the whole time. It's kind of nice getting to know you better."

Uryu looked like he was going to make snarky comeback, but stopped and smiled softly. "You know what? You're right. We've not had a real conversation without teasing each other the whole week you've been here. We barely know each other."

"Yeah."

"We can fix that, you know?"

"Really? You don't mind?"

"Of course not. You're going to be living here, right?" Asked Uryu. Ashleigh nodded. "Then we should get to know each other better."

"Alright. You wanna play 20 questions then?" She said playfully.

"How do you play?" He asked curious.

"You just ask each other random questions to get to know each other better. Nothing too difficult." She laughed.

"Alright, you go first." He said as he walked into the living room and sat sideways on the couch.

Ashleigh followed and sat beside him. "Okay. Weapon of choice."

"Bow and Arrows. You?"

"I always found sword fighting interesting."

"No wonder you and Ichigo get along so well. Um, favorite movie?"

Ashleigh blushed at this.

"What? Why are you blushing?" He asked as he laughed.

"It's just… I, um…" She stuttered. Uryu waited patiently, enjoying seeing the usually strong willed girl embarrassed. "It's the Twilight Saga, okay?!" She nearly yelled and hid her face in her hands.

"The chick-flick about the vampires?" He chuckled.

"Yes… I like the story."

"You are so weird. You just don't seem like the type of girl interested in romance novels." Uryu was trying to keep from breaking into a fit of laughter. Ashleigh looked up at him and noticed his extremely amused expression.

"Alright, so I'm a hopeless romantic who enjoys a good love story when there's some action to it. Every girl enjoys a good love story, no matter who she is." She pouted.

Uryu's resolve to keep from laughing at the poor bird girl broke when she saw how defensive she was. At first, Ashleigh was slightly offended before she realized how ridiculous she sounded and started laughing with him.

The two spent the night in the living room exchanging questions while laughing at one another's answers, becoming closer and closer with each passing minute.


	8. Ransom

Ashleigh laid stretched out on her stomach on her bed playing on her laptop. Her legs moved back and forth through the air as she hummed happily. Today had gone well. They had formed a dance committee and, being the only one who's ever been to a dance, she had been chosen as committee president. At first she had refused, but after Rukia and Orihime's constant pleading with her she finally gave in. It was especially convincing when Uryu volunteered to be vice-president. She quickly shook her head and shoved her feelings back into the back of her mind. Suddenly her computer dinged and caught her attention.

_'Ashleigh? Are you there?'_ Said the message in the instant message window. Her eyes widened in shock when she read the screen name.

_'Fang…?' _

_'No, but close. It's Angel.' _

_'Angel? How are you talking to me? You're all supposed to think I'm dead.'_

_'The other's still think that. I know because I could hear your thoughts that day.'_

_'That still doesn't answer how you were able to contact me, honey.'_

_'Well…'_

_'Angel, what happened?'_

_'You need to check your email, quickly please. I don't have long.'_

_'What's going on?'_

_'We're at the school. Max left her guard down for a split second and a bunch of erasers got the jump on us. The white _

_coats sent you a ransom email, which is how I was able to message you.'_

_'Dang it Max. Alright, I'll see what I can do.'_

_'Ashleigh?'_

_'Yeah?'_

_'Why didn't you meet up with us when you escaped?'_

_'I think this is a conversation for a later time, honey. Now go. Before you get caught, make sure to erase this __conversation.'_

_'Right. I love you Ashleigh.'_

_'Love you too babe.'_

_-User has logged off.-_

Ashleigh sighed and bit her tongue, fighting back the tears that threatened to fall. She immediately logged into her email and sure enough there was an email labeled URGENT. The email read:

_EA0203098,_

_Make sure you're by yourself when you read this. We have your brother and his friends. If you want them to live you __must turn yourself in. In a month, two lieutenants will come to collect you. You are to give them no problems or we will start __experimentation on your precious family. In the meantime rest assured they're safe, for now. You have a week to reply to this __email, and one month to meet up with your "escorts" near the river. Don't get any ideas on escape, the only reason I gave you a __month is to tie off whatever relationships you have made. Be prepared and don't tell anyone of this. Delete this email after you've __replied._

_-Mayuri Kurotsuchi  
__Captain of Squad Twelve_

Ashleigh sat there and stared at the screen. She couldn't believe it, they had found her. She ran through everything she had done since she had arrived at Karakura town. She'd had reprogrammed her computer, she had removed the locator bug built into it, she'd even changed her appearance. She had stayed in one spot for too long that had to be it. Max and Fang would have killed her if they found out she had stayed for so long. She pulled her legs to her chest and buried her head between her knees and began to sob quietly. She had listened to heart instead of her head. She had made friends that she trusted, she found a home, and most of all she fell in love with the raven-haired Quincy that was downstairs making dinner. She mentally kicked herself.

"Alright, I admit it. I love him, I am completely in love with him." She whispered quietly. "And because I love him, I'll go to Mayuri and surrender willingly. I can't get him, or any of the others, involved in this." With this new-found determination, she dried her tears and clean herself up, knowing that Uryu would soon call for her.

"Hey, Ash! Dinner's ready!" Uryu knocked on her door.

"Right on cue." She sighed and put on her happiest face, slowly she exited her room and went downstairs to eat with the man she could never be with.

* * *

Angel quickly deleted her and Ashleigh's conversation and went back to sit with the rest of the flock, who stared at her curiously. She slid inside of her cage with Nudge, who locked the door behind her.

"Angel?" Asked Max.

"Hm?" She answered.

"Who did you contact?" Asked Fang suspiciously who was leaning against the wall of his cage.

Angel looked away from them both. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Angel." Growled Max.

Angel sighed and looked up. "I sent a message to Ashleigh, alright?"

"What are you talking about? Ashleigh's dead." Asked Iggy. Angel looked over at Fang who was sitting completely straight now, as was the rest of the flock.

"That's not funny, Angel. We agreed we wouldn't talk about it anymore." Said Max, her voice tinted with pain.

"I'm not joking. She's alive." She answered as her eyes narrowed.

"Why didn't you tell us?! Why didn't you tell me?!" Shouted Fang from the cage across the room.

"She asked me not to, she knew that I could hear her thoughts that day. She didn't want you to risk yourself, Fang, just to save her. She caused a distraction so us and Jeb could escape."

"Why wouldn't she find us when she escaped?" Asked Nudge, who sat dumbstruck.

"She didn't want to be a burden on Max and Fang. She knew they were taking care of the rest of us, and she didn't want to add to our problems."

"That's stupid. She was never a burden to any of us." Whispered Fang.

"I know that, but she didn't want to cause trouble."

"Why did you contact her anyway?" Asked Max.

"Well, that's the other thing…" Angel paused. "They're using us as bait to get to her."

Everyone's eyes went wide and silence fell on the room. Fang sat in the corner of his cage as his body shook with all the held back emotions. Angel felt his pain, his sorrow, and his rage through her mind powers. It took everything she had not to cry herself. She had greatly missed Ashleigh, as did everyone. She was like a sister to everyone in the group, but Fang was the only one who was related to her by blood. She was stuck between utter fear and excitement that she might see her again. She loved Ashleigh, but she knew if she saw her again what it implied, it would mean Ashleigh would be sacrificing herself for their freedom.


End file.
